L.S.,
In a discussion in the Dutch web development newsgroup
<news:nl.internet.www.ontwerp> concerning web accessibility, Yvette P.
Hoitink invited me to share my thoughts with the WCAG group through this
public comment.
The discussion I refer to dealt with the scope of WCAG guidelines.
Yvette pointed out that the role of priority 3 guidelines was subject to
discussion: should they be seen as specifications, be it hard-to-reach,
or is it better to present them as 'best practices' to inspire web
authors and developers to follow?
Let me first emphasize that I see and support the role of the W3C to
ensure that the web will become more accessible to users with physical
or cognitive disabilities. However, I think there are topics that are
out of the reach of the W3C. Writing style, grammar, punctuation and
possibly also glossaries are subjects that extent well beyond the web,
covering also print, advertising, television and radio broadcasting.
I would argue that addressing these topics should be left to other
(national?) authorities. The WCAG guidelines should refer to established
sources of information if necessary. For instance, concerning writing
for the web, the guidelines could very well refer to the Yale Web Style
Guide (or even writing styleguides from the publishing industry) instead
of formulating a series of specifications itself. Or, concerning the
risks of fast changing dynamic content for epilepsy patients: refer to
known information from the television and motion picture industry.
Guidelines that govern accessibility for television can --generally--
very well be applied to the web.
The WCAG should focus on issues that are inalienably tied to the nature
of the web, such as feedforward and feedback in navigation, grouping of
navigational elements, alternative accessible content for scripts and
plug-ins used etcetera. The current guidelines de a good job in this
respect, but could use a screening on the focus I described before.
I think this approach would catch two birds in one stroke: the
guidelines that are issued will be more applicable to the nature of the
web, and the W3C would position itself alongside existing authorities
that perform the same role for other media, thus emphasizing the place
the web should take: it is nothing more than a new medium, that can
learn and benefit from insights that are commonplace in adjacent media
(television, print).
With kind regards,
Jeroen Visser
--
vizi fotografie & grafisch ontwerp
I http://www.vizi.nl